Hurt/Comfort:There are scenes of heartache to be dealt with by the characters.

Dedication:This is for my friend Mel, who sometimes mystifies me with her vision of the world generally but we have some marvellous conversatiions inbetween.

Watching the newscast of the current war my country was embroiled in I wondered, not for the first time, why.

Slipping into the comfort of my sofa with a gin and tonic by my side I begin stoking our cat’s multi-coloured mane. It is all a political game. One, mere mortals have no real hold over even if we did vote the bastards who did the war mongering into office.

It could be argued, from where I was sitting, that it was all a waste of time and more importantly life; one life in particular, my fiancé Ian. The darn man doing the unthinkable signed up immediately when the troubles started. He had soothed my worries away with that infectious smile of his. And, as we gave our tearful goodbyes, well my tears, he kissed me tenderly stating with conviction that he would be back before I could miss him. I feigned a smile to make him happy. He wasn’t going to face the enemy thinking he had left one behind in the disguise of someone who professed to love him.

Once I’d found Ian and decided he was the one for me I never wanted to let him go ever. We loved all the same things, sports and adventure vacations, complete with a hectic social life. It was common knowledge to our inner circle of friends that Ian’s impulsive action in signing up without my knowledge had made me a very grumpy and disillusioned woman. We had lived together for two years and become engaged two weeks before he left and now, a year and a half later I wanted our old life back - all of it as it was before. Each day I waited for him to walk through the door and continue our plans of a life together. In the erratic letters I received from him his initial enthusiasm for the wedding had faded as he became more and more jaded. His tone was disgusted at the loss of life on both sides. That was a sentiment that many in the country now asked. Why had this war, that should have been over within six months tops, lasted so much longer with no apparent conclusion in sight. I would never publicly denounce my country or its actions as long as Ian was fighting the war nor would he.

***

Three months later…

My fingers lifelessly drop the letter I’d received that morning in the mail to the ground. I can’t believe what I read. Ian is finally coming home to me. The injuries he’d sustained were such that he wouldn’t be in a position to return to his unit. But, his wounds, which were not fully disclosed to me, hadn’t been fatal and for that I was grateful. For all intents and purposes the war was over for Ian and me. Dropping to my knees, a wonderful feeling now flowing through my veins, I thanked God or whoever listened at such a time, for bringing him home. He was finally keeping his promise and returning to me.

The euphoric feeling I had was akin to the day we pulled the stunt of bungee jumping off the local bridge the first time we’d admitted we were in love. Now we would have a big, big party to celebrate his homecoming. I would arrange it to be on a par with the wedding plans we had tentatively on hold. I didn’t care at this moment how badly he was injured. All I knew was that he was coming home to me and everything else would fall into place and we could get our lives back on track and the normality we once had shared.

Picking up the letter and myself off the floor I grinned happily at my cat, who looked at me as if I’d gone crazy. Perhaps she wasn’t short of the mark. “Okay Molly, I know that’s your space but daddy’s returning home at last.” I quickly hugged my feline friend. With a multiple blink of her eyes she eventually protested my man-handling of her as I placed her gently back on the floor where she glided off to a place only she was allowed, her basket.

Strike while the iron is hot. That’s one of the best expressions my mother taught me and why not. I picked up my purse and car keys and headed for the garage. Two hours later I had arranged everything to my satisfaction and now to meet friends in the local bar to ensure everyone would be there. They all duly turned up and for the first time in almost two years we had a truly good time. I was actually the life and soul of the party. A factor that had been missing from the moment that Ian had announced his plans.

To hell with the car, I was going to have a drink and party. I threw my keys to my best friend Clancy who winked in delight relieved at my upbeat mood. Iit had been almost as hard for her when Ian left as it had for me. She had been my confidant and shoulder to cry on more times than I deserved. Now, I was going to attempt to make it up to her in particular and tonight was the beginning.

“Guy’s I’ll be back in a couple of minutes I need to improve my cash-flow.” I headed for the door and the cash machine directly across the street.

My head was filled with so many wonderful scenarios of what my life was going to be like now that it was back on track that the crunching sound and horn, followed by the screech of brakes was something that was happening to someone else. The brief pain was totally lost in the quagmire of my other thoughts. Until I heard my name called…

“Claire! For god sake Claire…” the words were shouted, or perhaps not. I was still in my own euphoric fog because I could hardly hear what was going on. Except that my best friend was speaking and I was watching from a distance as she knelt next to someone broken and bleeding on the road. That was Clancy, always there when she was needed. I was glad she was my best friend.

There were lights from all directions then. Some in the foreground, some in the background and then there was an ethereal light that shimmered in the distance. A voice echoed in every passage of my mind, which I heard clearly, compelling me forward, “Claire it’s your time.”

With a backward glance at my friend who was now weeping, perhaps this party idea for Ian hadn’t been a good idea after all…Ian.

“Claire it’s your time,” that insistent yet not unwelcome voice echoed in my head and I had to go. As Ian had gone on his path I had to travel mine. Turning to the light I smiled as several shadowy figures hovered in the background beckoning me forward. My last thought, or was it words, in that life, though I’ll never know for sure, “Ian I’ll make you happy one day, I promise.”

***

Three years later…

Ian Crawley swam furiously, the length of the Olympic sized pool where he was exercising, as if a demon was on his tail. At times he wondered to himself if that wasn’t the truth. He had been lucky he knew it in how life had metered out his fate. The gunshot he’d received in battle three years before had paralyzed him from the waist down. Initially there had been little hope that he would regain the use of his legs. His reaction and will to live had been tested when he learned the terrible news of Claire’s death in a hit and run accident weeks before his arrival home. He blamed himself for leaving her and tormented so much over the loss that he even contemplated taking his own life. His heart back then had constantly gnawed at him that Claire would still be with him if only he’d listened to her. They would have been enjoying that family of two children, one dog, and two cats they had talked about the week before he left for the war. He still had their cat Molly who had been a stray and wandered into their lives a year after they had been living together. The cat had been, in the last three years, a wonderful bonus of what, for him, was a shattered home coming.

Time, they say, has a way of making you forget, or, at least take the edge out of the hurt of losing someone you love. He wasn’t sure how right that was but he had to admit he was moving on slowly. The breakthrough in his condition had been encouraging and now he was gradually, with the aide of a physio, friends and the constant use of an Olympic sized pool, making headway. The wheelchair was gradually being overtaken by a walker.

Climbing out of the pool and sitting exhausted on the side he waved to his physio that he was okay and that the man could attend to his other charges for the moment. He pondered what Claire would have made of this situation. In his dream world he knew she would still love him…but would she? Claire had been so active - they both had.

“Hey there Ian, what’s that melancholy expression for?” a female voice gently asked as she gazed at the man seated at the edge of the pool.

Turning to stare at the owner of the voice Ian grinned. “Clancy, what a surprise. I didn’t know you’d be here today?”

“A pleasant one I hope.” Clancy smiled back at him as she walked closer to the edge of the pool.

“Always,” he announced warmly, knowing that it wasn’t a bullshit expression. If there was one person in this world who had helped him more than anyone else through the last three years it was Clancy. She had been the one to tell him Claire had died and had seen the fall out that pronouncement had caused. She then helped him pull it all back together again by forcing him to work hard on improving his health. He couldn't count the number of times he had allowed this woman into the deepest parts of his heart, authorizing her to see the despair that refused to leave. Clancy had been Claire’s best friend, someone he had been jealous of because of her long time links with Claire. Most of all she had been there when Claire had died. Now she was paradoxically the only friend he could honestly say knew all of him - the good and the bad.

“The kids had choices today and they decided the pool was the place to be. So, here I am. How was the workout today?”

Clancy worked with dysfunctional kids and loved every second. Though he wondered how she managed to be as patient as she had to be at times since some of the kids were more than a handful. However, she always had a ready smile and the kids sensed that she was a good hearted person and for the most part respected that in her.

“Well, I’m glad they decided or I wouldn’t have seen you for a week or two. Now we get a chance to catch up before I leave.”

“You’re leaving, why, where?” Is this sudden?” The desperation in her voice dragged his eyes from the pool, were he had an overwhelming need to show her how strong he was becoming in the water.

Laughing, Ian placed a wet hand on her ankle to placate her anxious expression. “Sudden? In a way yes, I guess. The doctor wants me to see a specialist who is flying into the capital for a seminar and he’s agree to take a look at me. If all goes well he might take me on and before you know it I might be able to walk freely again. I’ll be gone a week or maybe two at the most.”

Clancy placed a hand over her mouth. “Were you going to tell me or would I find out the day you left?” She knew she was being stupid he owed her no explanation, none at all.

Taken aback at the comment, Ian was puzzled. “I was going to call you tonight and let you know. Would that have been a problem?”

Watching Clancy’s face change several times before she answered him, he saw something there he wished he hadn’t. It asked questions of him he wasn’t able to answer and might never be in a position to do so. It was a profound expression of love and resignation. He’d seen it before of course, with Claire. Clancy’s expression mirrored his lost fiancée’s, when he had finally told her he had signed up to fight for their country.

“No problem at all Ian. I need to check that all the kids have changed. Give me a call before you leave.” Her gentle touch on his bare shoulder sent tingles down his spine. Another path that he wasn’t going to take at this stage. How could he if he still held a torch for Claire.

As he tried to summon Claire’s features they were becoming more and more difficult to recall on demand. Each time he did it was taking longer and longer to envisage. Did this mean that one day he might never see her face again and could he cope with that?

A scream attracted his attention as he watched a couple of Clancy’s kids fool around in the water. It was all kids stuff, or was it? One child was being pushed under the water by a bigger kid and the smaller one didn’t look too happy about it. His arms flailing in the water had Ian’s adrenaline pumping. He shouted over to his physio who was temporarily out of earshot. If this was a problem Tom his physio wouldn’t reach the kids in time, but he knew he could. Diving into the water with his wheelchair following him into the water, Ian reached the spot within seconds. He pulled at the larger kid to leave the struggling child alone. With a sneer the kid swam away and Ian was left to salvage the situation. The child hadn’t returned to the surface and he couldn’t see him anywhere. There was no time to ponder the situation, as he took a deep breath and dove under the water. The swirling depths gave Ian a disorientated sensation as he swam around trying to find the kid. What he hadn’t bargained on was several bodies jumping directly into the water above him. Unable to do more than see what was going to happen next several feet descended on him and hit various part of his body particularly his head. Losing control of his faculties for a few moments Ian gasped in a mouthful of water, a stupid thing to do as he began to lose consciousness as his body hit the bottom of the pool.

Darkness descended…

***

“Stop! You can’t do this!”

“What are you saying, who is doing what to whom?”

“He can’t die it isn’t fair!”

“Who lives and dies is hardly fair. What will be, will be and it must have been his time.”

“No! I refuse to believe that life is so cruel as to have him go through so much pain and then to end this way. There must be a way to stop this.”

There was silence as shadowy heads turned and voices whispered into the dark void that was not dark unless you chose it to be so. Right now for one in particular it couldn’t get any darker. “I made a promise he would be happy. How can that be, if he dies?”

The pleading did not fall on deaf ears, as one of the congregation in the area rose and spoke directly to the distressed voice. “There is one way. You can ask to convene the assembly.”

Several voices were raised at the comment before a hushed silence invaded the area. Facing the one that had given an answer the distressed voice asked quietly, “The assembly, what is the assembly?”

Eyes looked piercingly all around creating the impression that the mere mention of the assembly was not something to be taken idly. “Why, the assembly of souls of course. For it is in their power to stay the moment of death and allow life to continue.”

“Then how do I reach them?”

A hollow laugh emitted from the one who was giving answers. “They have already heard your plea. An assembly is being convened as we speak. Though there is a price to pay. Are you willing to pay without knowing what that might be regardless of the outcome?”

Without hesitation a stark yes reverberated around the area.

“Then continue on your journey my friend. I wish you luck or should I say goodness for that is what you will need when you plead your case. Follow the light it will end where it all began.”

The cryptic words echoed all around, as the light was followed, trepidation close at heal.

***

In the between stage of waiting to be reborn, souls gathered and were greeted by souls who traveled their path. It was a common belief in life that souls traveled together for eternity. Claire Knight, on her ascension, experienced the beautiful feeling inside of belonging.

In a strange way I had half expected to see someone I knew. Although on earth all the people I was close too were still living, even my grandparents. There had been people here, at least the souls of those people who once lived life on earth, and they manifested in the last form they had taken in that life. When I arrived here my soul had sensed that I was in good hands and those around me held no threat or fear for me. In a strange kind of way I was living a surreal existence but wasn’t quite sure what it entailed. On my arrival a kind soul had explained that I must wait for rebirth. For some, it was hastily related and were reborn quickly. Others had a longer stay in what I decided to call a state of limbo. What constituted short or long I wasn’t exactly certain because time meant nothing, or at least it didn’t have the emphasis it had on earth. Some of the original souls I had met had moved on to a rebirth and others had taken their place. I recalled clearly a woman called Tanya who remarked before she left that we would meet again. Maybe we would but how could she possibly know and how would I.

A stream of light that wasn’t pure moved towards me. It was like a shimmering from a rainbow with all the colours intertwining as it moved closer.

“You called the assembly of souls?”

I gulped as the deep voice resonated around in my eardrums. “Yes.”

“Are you prepared to pay the price for such an action?” The voice was deep although I was sure it was feminine. I tried but failed to see the figure of the soul surrounded by the rainbow of light.

“Yes.” Is that all the verbal arsenal I have left in my vocabulary? At this rate Ian is going to be joining me sooner rather than later.

The rainbow of light shimmered and left as suddenly as it appeared. Then a figure stood before me closely scrutinising my essence. I was right, it was a woman, or she had been in her past life. “My name’s Claire. Are you here to take me to the assembly?”

The stranger gave me a searching look as her lips pulled into what I would only describe as a cross between a smile and a sneer. “I know who you are…or once were in that life. The assembly is listening. It is now your chance to save the soul you plead for.”

I was stunned. I knew, it was foolish of me to expect something similar to a court and jury as it would have been on earth. However, it was how my senses worked and, in a vague way, I was upset and felt cheated. “How do I know there is any other soul here but you and me?”

“You do not.” The woman wasn’t being very helpful. Why should she? It wasn’t her problem saving my ex-fiancé it was all up to me.

I shuffled between each leg, it was a nervous reaction and for the first time since I’d died was experiencing that negative reaction. “In that case I suppose we’d better get started. What do I do?”

The woman came directly into view. Previously she had been in the shadows, a term that was held here for souls who didn’t want to interact with other souls. Darkness was the worse condition and I’d noticed it usually applied to some pretty nasty characters that had once been living. Some of my fellow souls had even indicated they were evil\ or had done something evil in their past life, even lives. Since being here, I had avoided any dark areas. It was also true however, that you could plunge yourself into a personal inner darkness if you hadn’t resolved issues with the passing of your last life. I guess in some ways that was my fate. My thoughts shifted back to the woman before me. She was very pretty in a dark kind of way and her features, I guess I’d call, were chiselled. She reminded me of a person I’d go to if I needed help, a face of authority one might say. It was not one I’d ever call my best friend because there appeared to be no softness behind the mask she wore.

“I am the arbiter of the assembly of souls. If you answer the questions and prove to me that this soul you are fighting for deserves to continue the current life then it will be so.” The words were uttered in a factual, devoid of emotion, manner.

“Then it isn’t an assembly at all it’s just you and I?” I wasn’t convinced that this was going to achieve the goal I desired.

“On the contrary Claire Knight, it is an assembly. However, the details of the assembly are not the issue at this time. Now we shall begin if this is truly what you want?”

“Yes, it is what I want. It is the only thing I want.” I needed to focus on the positive reason I had asked for this moment…Ian.

The woman motioned for me to stand in a square of red light. I felt like I was about to be transported to some distant planet as in an episode of Star Trek. Of course that wasn’t the case, so I did as instructed. I immediately felt the unexpected heat from the square before my eyes tracked to the dark woman’s. She merely raised her eyebrows and then closed her eyes for a few moments. When she opened them again they appeared to glowed unpleasantly.

“The enemy of your soul is my ally, for your enemy seeks out the dark places that are hidden from view. What your enemy finds will help define the truth. Claire Knight why is it important that you fight for this soul?”

I was stunned by the words. What the hell is she talking about the enemy of my soul, what rubbish is all that? Is she my enemy? Even as I thought that, my own inner soul answered in the negative. Thankfully the rest was understandable. “He’s my fiancé…was, that is I loved ...love him.”

The woman’s eyes glowed even brighter as she replied, “you think that because you once loved this person it allows you the right to stop the inevitable. How very arrogant of you. Why should one you love have precedence over others who are equally loved…perhaps even more so?”

“I am not arrogant! What gives you the right to say that to me? You don’t know him or me?” I exploded like a petulant child. My despair at Ian’s predicament hurt me, but worse than that, I’d made a promise that I intended to keep just as he would have kept his had I lived.

The woman laughed hollowly. She was laughing at me and my anger. I felt angrier and lashed out viciously. “I doubt anyone would go this far for you.” I didn’t really know what to expect after my outburst. Perhaps anger towards me, but it never happened. The woman’s voice calmly asked me another question.

“You would say that you know this soul, how well? Was the soul your mate, your true mate? Or merely a traveller on the same path who you shared an echo of something that once was.”

I wasn’t sure what she wanted me to say. All I knew was that my anger had subsided as quickly as it had appeared. What I did notice to my dismay was that the red circle was even more pronounced and that the heat was rising. Is my payment for this audience a one way ticket to hell? “He loved me and I loved him. How else can I explain that to you? Don’t you have a way of knowing what I say is the truth?”

The woman closed her eyes and then re-opened them with the glow emitting stronger than before. Can my inner soul be wrong and she was my enemy? I now knew that to win Ian’s passage to continued life, I had to slay my enemy and any darkness they might bring to the forefront.

“The assembly knows all. Who would you choose if life had to be forfeit in his place?”

Inside I screamed. All this is ridiculous supposition. Do I have to choose someone to take Ian’s place? I can’t do that I’m not God! “Are you asking me to play God?”

The laughter was curious this time and actually sounded amused and not cynical. “Oh no Claire Knight, I would expect no one to play God but the entity itself. However, you are trying to do so by stopping something that is meant to be. If that should be allowed the natural course is that another soul takes their place.”

“Is that the payment I have to choose?” My heart, oh what a stupid thing to say, I no longer possess a heart. My soul, which made me who and what I was, hurts like hell. It is an impossible decision to make. “I can’t do that.”

“You can’t, or won’t?”

My eyes glared at the woman. She had no heart in her soul and probably never had even in life. Maybe she had been evil in a past life and had a penance to pay by being so damn cruel to others.

“I can’t. How can I possibly take another’s life because of my own desires, even if my desire is engineered in a good way?”

“I asked you if the soul you fight for is your soul-mate, you did not answer.”

“I did answer I said I loved him. He was everything I wanted in my life.”

“Loving someone and being their soul-mate is not necessarily the same thing. The soul you seek help for may eventually love another if you succeed. How will that make you feel? How does it make you feel now that he can barely recall you in his mind?”

“If I had lived we would be together.”

“Perhaps. Had you lived would the soul you once loved be the same person physically and mentally after their experiences? The trauma of what that soul went through surely would make them a different person and not the person you once loved. You have glimpsed, from this vantage point, the person this soul has become and the interaction with other souls still living. Do you fit in that life? The person you once were and the soul that you are?”

My thoughts were jumbled as the woman asked me to delve into my inner demons. I had not dared concede that what she indicated had merit. I loved Ian as I remember him. However, would I have changed if I had lived to see him arrive home in the condition he was? Would our love have wavered perhaps even died? I had to admit that I had never enjoyed being around people who weren’t a hundred percent fit. “Honestly, I can’t answer that. All I can say is that I hoped that our love would have been strong enough to cope with all the changes.”

“At last you understand.” The woman closed her eyes again as soon as she’d spoken. “Tell me now the truth, why do you want this soul to live without you?”

I hesitated because I wasn’t sure what the truth was. Yes, I loved Ian, a part of me still did. Although now having to reflect on this woman’s words and her version of what might have been I had to ask myself…is Ian my soul-mate? Strangely, as I gazed transfixed into the glow of the woman’s eyes before me, I saw something in her eyes that made me question if in a bizarre way my death hadn’t been a good thing for Ian. I would probably have hurt him more if, on his return, I’d left him because I was unable to cope with his disability. “I made a promise when I died, to myself I suppose. I made a promise that he would be happy.”

A careful nod of the head was my answer for a few moments. “A soul-mate is never truly happy without the other half. You would have rejoiced at his being with you again and yet you ask for the soul to stay and live out a life without you. How then can that be a happy situation for the soul?”

I knew, with a clarity that I’d previously never experienced either here or in my past life, that Ian wasn’t my soul-mate. But, he still had a chance to find his. “Because I’m not the one who can make him happy. He has a chance to find his soul-mate. That, more than any other, must be my plea for him for he deserves so much more.”

The red light of the square began to fade and was replaced by a white glow. Warmth radiated from the whiteness drenching every fibre of my soul.

“The soul you plead for is free of the bonds of death…for now.”

My eyes caught the woman’s and I was seared by emotions that were foreign to me. They were so powerful that my senses seemed to overload as her soul touched mine. “How will I know?” I managed to whisper.

The arbiter’s soul touched mine as I saw what happened next…

***

The black blur that had overwhelmed Ian began to brighten and as he gasped desperately for air and heard people talking around him. Then a hand gently brought him back to the real world. Choking out a mixture of air and water as firm hands held his upper body a voice he knew all too well called to him.

“Ian. Ian are you okay? I’m really sorry this is all my fault.” Clancy was crying. Ian could see that much from his vantage point lying prostrate on the slippery pool-side.

Dragging himself with the help of Tom, who looked none too happy, into a sitting position Ian gave Clancy a weak smile and a shrugged. “Hey you can’t get rid of me that easily you know.” His words were flippant and about the only thing his lame brain could come up with. Soon he felt the tension around him slowly dissipate.

“Ian, next time you want to go exploring underwater take a tank with you man.” Tom gave him a nod and headed for the wheelchair that too had been rescued from the bottom of the pool. Ian took the veiled criticism for what it was; extreme relief that he hadn’t done something stupid on Tom’s watch.

Clancy was still brushing back his wayward hair as she tried to stop the flow of tears. “I never want to get rid of you Ian that’s the problem.”

Her words echoed in his head. “What problem Clancy?” His words were spoken gently as he captured her gaze a knowing look in them.

“You’ve guessed. I know now more than ever I can’t keep it from you. I love you Ian. I have for a long time but I understand…” Clancy trailed off but she never released his eye contact. He saw there all the love she had to offer someone special and she was offering it to him.

“Dare I ask what you understand?”

This time she looked away and didn’t look him directly in the eye as she answered softly. “You still love Claire how can I compete with her memory.”

A memory, yes! That was why he could no longer call Claire’s image to mind at will. She was becoming a memory. One treasured and never to be forgotten it was true, but he was alive and here. Somewhere in the dark abyss that had enfolded him under the water, he had a strange sensation that Claire had given him her blessing to start his life over…begin to love again. As he stared at Clancy’s averted profile he knew, like an arrow from cupids bow, that they were meant to be together. He’d always felt a connection with her from the first moment they’d met. At first it had been viewed as antagonism, now on reflection perhaps he had a deeper feeling for her and it was buried because of his relationship with Claire. A voice brought him out of his musings.

“Are you ready to go Ian, I think you’ve had enough for today.” Tom pushed the chair next to him and began to help him into his mode of transport. Within seconds Tom had Ian safely ensconced in the chair and was ready to wheel him towards the changing rooms.

Ian saw the look on Clancy’s face. One that said she’d just lost her best friend and there was no going back. In a way she had, they both knew that their relationship wasn’t what it had been moments before. “Clancy?”

Her eyes were brimming with the tears she was trying desperately to prevent from falling as she returned his gaze. “Yes Ian.”

“I’m not ready to be buried in memories. How would you like to go out to dinner this evening?”

Clancy’s face was a picture that turned from distressed to joy in a split second. “Yes, yes I’d like that.” The kids she was with began calling for her attention and she reluctantly said, “I haveto go”. Her smile that would have set a million candles glowing.

“About time too, I thought you had lost the use of your heart as well as your legs man.” Tom chided him as only he was allowed to do.

As he was wheeled towards the changing area Ian’s thoughts drifted to Claire and what she would think. For the first time in ages her image appeared immediately. What he saw there in her face made him realise what a lucky man he was. She was wishing them well, finally allowing him to let go and allow life to begin again.

***

While watching the scene unfold between Casey and Ian, my smile and tears, though they hardly counted in this realm, flowed in joy. Not only had Ian been saved from the jaws of death but he was finding love again. Clancy loved him and my heart felt the wonder of the moment and was happy for them. The situation was so right that I found myself unable to find any words for the situation.

I glanced about me expecting to find myself back in the community of my brethren of souls but I was not. I was still in this place with my soul intertwined with the woman I had called earlier enemy. I knew now that she wasn’t, had never been, and never could be.

“Thank you.”

“The assembly was pleased to help. Now I must go.” Our connection was severed as the woman moved away from me. I felt bereft. Something was being wrenched from me and I didn’t understand and I wanted desperately to do so. It was an ache so acute I wondered if I was dying again.

“Will I see you again?” What a foolish thing to say. However, I was astounded and yet not, by the answer.

“Yes. Your soul and mine are intertwined.” The rainbow light that had appeared when the woman entered the area now enveloped her. I reached out to prevent her fading from me. Why is this happening? She needs to tell me more she must tell me more!

“You can’t leave me not now. Please. If you…are my soul-mate, how will I know you?”

The light faded slightly as the woman returned into focus. “For you I traded my next life to be here and be your catalyst. You will know me when we meet again, you always know me.”

This time the rainbow light became brighter and the woman, no my soul-mate, was gone. I never even knew her name. Though what would that matter in another lifetime. As she left me her voice spoke words that enlightened me. It was the only explanation I was going to receive at this time. It allowed me to finally understand what she had meant when she had first spoken to me and why I had foolishly thought her my enemy.

The enemy of your soul is my ally.
For your enemy seeks out the dark places that are hidden from view.
What they find will help me deliver the truth.
What you experience will demand you fight to save the glory within your soul.

How then can your enemy do either of us harm?
Because they consume all that is evil
And I rescue all that is good.

Your soul demands you heed your enemy wisely,
For foolish action brings only despair.
From there you can only watch as you fail to deliver light to your soul.
The wisest is one who welcomes the challenge an enemy possesses

Because what they seek can only strengthen your power
To convey the goodness that lies within the essence of every soul
As always we face things together.

For your soul is my soul and when intertwined
We have a special power that beats any odds
And allows us to meet time after time.

***

She had proven that my soul was good and in so doing had paid a price. I knew what that price was because I paid it as well. It will be a while before we met again in rebirth. When we do, I will know her as she will know me and we will be together facing challenges and enemies that we beheld.

I have no fears now for when we do finally meet I know our sacrifices will not fall on deaf ears. The assembly of souls will always hear us and ensure we have our full measure of happiness together when the time is right.